Political uncertainty and low oil price, a threat to Nigeria’s strong economic history- Control Risks

Political uncertainty and low oil price, a threat to Nigeria’s strong economic history- Control Risks

By Justine Wangui

Email: justinewangui@gmail.com

Lagos, Nigeria - The Risk Map 2015 report, an established authoritative guide and key reference point for policymakers and business leaders seeking to plot global trends over the coming year published by  Control Risks, the global business risk consultancy has named political uncertainty and low oil prices as key hazards to Nigeria’s success history. The report was introduced yesterday, March 12, 2015 by Tom Griffin, Managing Director West Africa, Control Risks.  

Nigeria’s long unsuccessful battle with the infamous Islamist militant group Boko Haram over the past period has severely depleted its economy leaving some parts of the country in abject poverty.  The general elections that were to be conducted this year faced postponement due to the unrest in the country. 

“The postponement of Nigeria’s elections has unnerved some investors and made others delay their final investment decisions. The economic impact of that has been shown by the drop in the naira. The genuinely competitive elections are a critical juncture on Nigeria’s path towards becoming a mature democracy, but closely contested polls are uncharted territory for the country’s political system. Nonetheless, Nigeria has an impressive capacity for weathering impending crises and we believe that the upcoming elections will be no different,” said Tom Griffin.

As per the most significant underlying trends in global risk and security, and the most crucial markets in 2015 highlighted in the Risk Map, diversification of the economy remains crucial to improve the sustainability of West Africa’s economic growth.  The escalating political uproar following the postponement of the presidential poll to March threatens to depress investor confidence. The deepening political divisions between Nigeria’s regions over the presidential poll and the absence of a clear leader increase the risk of a contested outcome and a turbulent outcome.  

The drop in oil revenue will test Nigeria’s economy over the next year to show the extent to which the fast-growing non-oil sectors have become truly independent from the oil economy. In addition, the incoming administration in May will have to address a cash-flow crisis, the threat from Boko Haram while maintaining stability in the oil-producing Niger delta and reducing social unrest.

Tom Griffin pointed out Africa’s  constrains demonstrated by the current year 2015, among them being excessive reliance on commodities such as oil, bottlenecks in the economy, security challenges from criminal and militant groups and the need to improve governance.

 Source: (https://www.controlrisks.com)

Leaders Support Accelerating Excellence in Science

Leaders Support Accelerating Excellence in Science

By Justine Wangui (ScienceAfrica correspondent)
Email: justinewangui@gmail.com
 

African leaders support the establishment of the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA), a science funding pan-African Platform created by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) in collaboration with NEPAD Agency, a technical body of African Union (AU).

The recent 24th Summit of AU Heads of State and Government Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, endorsed the establishment of the platform. When announcing AESA at a recent meeting of twenty African Academies, the AAS President Prof. Aderemi Kuku referred to this development as, ‘‘a new dawn for science development on the continent.’’ AESA is set to strengthen long-term development of research leadership, scientific excellence and innovation that impact on Africa’s developmental challenges. It will also identify challenges hindering rapid scientific advancement in Africa, run open calls for proposals with transparent review processes, and actively manage grants among others.

 AESA will as well promote the collaborative and coordinated implementation of the Africa Union’s (AU) Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024) in the area of health. Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, CEO of NEPAD Agency said that NEPAD is ready to offer relentless support to African institutions in addressing health matters.  “NEPAD Agency is committed to work with African institutions in applying science, technology and innovation in addressing Africa’s challenges in health and is therefore pleased to draw upon the capacity that resides at the African Academy of Sciences to establish AESA.”

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Welcome Trust and UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) have already recognized and offered financial support to AESA saying that we welcome the African Union’s recent call to establish the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA). AESA will be formally launched during the next AU summit in June 2015 in South Africa.

GMO'S ARE SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION-OFAB

By Justine Wangui (Science Africa correspondent)

Email: justinewangui@gmail.com

Kenyans have been assured of high safety of agricultural biotechnology. They have also been urged to have confidence in consumption of biotech products.  This was advocated by speakers during the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) Kenya chapter which was conducted at Safari Club Hotel in Nairobi on Thursday 26th February 2015.  The annual global status of commercialized biotech crops was launched and Kenya’s biotech and biosafety capacity was discussed. 

Hon (Dr) Robert Pukose MP, Endebess and vice Chair, Parliamentary committee on Health confidently remarked that Genetically Modified foods and health products are safe for consumption.  “We should let Kenyans know that GMO products are the safest for consumption since they are carefully analyzed by scientific experts before being released to the market.  Kenya must lift the ban on GMO importation,” he said.

Biotechnology is not as a replacement of the traditional farming methods but it complements other efforts.  One of the objectives of biotechnology is to incorporate the traditional methods of production for efficient products.

The chairman of Kenyatta University Biotech Consortium (KUBICCO), Dr. Oduor said that Kenya has adequate research facilities, regulatory platforms, government’s goodwill and human capacity needed to create confidence in Biotech products.  Research institutions such as Kenyatta University plant Transformation Lab (PTL) and Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) have highly trained personnel in Genetic Modification technology. The Biosafety Act of 2009 is an enough indication that the government is in support of GMO products.   He said that, “As a country, we are good to go.  We have all the required facilities that are needed in trusting the Genetically Modified products.  We have the support from the government, qualified personnel and research institutes as well as functional regulatory systems. With the increasing global population which is currently at 7, 297653341, we need to incorporate GMO food in our systems in order to cope with starvation. “

He cited some genetically modified products in health which have been approved effective and safe for use. They included a drug for Ebola management called Zmapp, genetically modified insulin for lowering Diabetes and Elelviso, a drug that treats a bone disease known as Gauncher’s disease.

Records are showing that the developing countries are almost catching up with the developed countries in biotechnology farming.  In her presentation, Dr. Magret Karembu, Director International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) Africenter displayed the results of a research carried out by a European group who analyzed 147 data sets.  They showed that GM crops have increased yield by 22% in a period of 19 years that is from the year 1996 to the year 2014.  The global crops leading in biotech are maize, cotton canola and soybeans. There is significant potential for growth in use of biotech crops in the future. The future trends in biotech crop’s use are expansion and improvement of current biotech crops, progress with drought tolerance, success of public-private partnerships and increase of food products for direct consumer benefits.

However, challenges such as ignorance from farmer are, ageing farmers, youths shunning away from agriculture and climatic changes are drawing back Biotechnology use.

Dr. Karembu said that biotechnology is aiming towards making agriculture attractive for youths so that they can stop evading it as it has many opportunities.  She suggested that biotechnology can be improved by strong political goodwill with consistent policies, sustained communication with society and efficient regulatory processes.